A Belgian Museum Looks Back at Three Decades of Experimental Work by Honoré ∂’O

Artsy

May 24th, 2016 12:40 am

Image courtesy of Mu.ZEE.

The Belgian artist Honoré ∂’O—and Kristof De Clercq, the gallery who represents him—made headlines for winning the SOLO prize at Art Brussels 2015. Now, a
major retrospective at Mu.ZEE in Ostend, Belgium, offers a look back at the
artist’s eclectic oeuvre.

The exhibition’s title, “Holy Molecule,” is in part a
reference to the industrial material—such as styrofoam, cotton balls, PVC, and plastic—with
which Honoré ∂’O frequently works. These everyday items, the artists says, can
be the building blocks for something “holy.”

He has experimented, for instance, with the idea of a
styrofoam pearl. Styrofoam, the synthetic polymer, has an unglamorous reputation
as material for disposable coffee cups and takeout containers. But a pearl made
of styrofoam is pure white and lightweight, containing 98% air.
For Honoré δ’O, it is the perfect “anti-material” from which to make something
as simple and elegant as a pearl.

Image courtesy of Mu.ZEE.

The exhibition is meant to be a sanctuary for the mind, a
place to roam freely among artworks and texts from various stages in the artist’s practice. Born Raf Van Ommeslaeghe in 1961, he dabbled in drawing
and studied architecture as a young man, before his career took off in the
mid-1980s, around the same time he renamed himself Honoré ∂’O. He started
making assemblages from found objects like cardboard, rope, and discarded
paper; soon after, polystyrene—the basis for styrofoam—started
appearing in his work as well.

Image courtesy of Mu.ZEE.

Staged in collaboration with Kristof De Clercq, this collection
finds its way to Mu.ZEE, a museum that specializes in Belgian art
from the mid-19th century to the present. The works on display are experimental
both materially and conceptually. In sculptures, photos, installations, and
texts, Honoré ∂’O delves into themes as diverse as pedagogy, fertility,
childhood memory, and mythology. While smaller exhibitions of his work can be seen at art fairs and galleries, “Holy Molecule” is a
welcome opportunity to experience the totality of his artistic development and vision.